When I was in high school, I mowed a lawn in the Buena Vista Club. That’s not entirely true. I actually mowed three lawns, nearly all in a row, spanning … Read more

Whoever designs the cheap foam pads that are intended to be stretched over the round disc at the bottom of an orbital waxing device, whoever that is they should be … Read more

I suppose if I were pressed, I’d confess that the subjective nature of real estate pricing bothers me. Not the fact that one property is worth something to one person … Read more

We could be forgiven if we looked outside our windows and forgot what time of year it was. If we couldn’t discern late April from mid November, or mid November … Read more

For years, if you executed an MLS search asking for those South Shore Club homes that fell into the “SOLD” category, you’d just find one lonely home. Repeat the search … Read more

There should be a special support group made up entirely of those unfortunate people who were entry level Geneva lakefront home buyers between the years of 2005 and 2007. This … Read more

I don’t think anyone really wants to be uncomfortable in their own vacation home. Sure, some vacation home ideals find us tucked away in a primitive cabin, far away from … Read more

If I had been a pier guy, I wouldn’t be typing this. I wouldn’t have slept well last night. I would have been up, awake, tossing and turning as the … Read more

First, I wished for a deep cover of ice. And then the lake froze solid, with so much ice that it only fully receded just two days ago (there was … Read more

It’s an image that we’ve all seen thousands of times. We’ve seen those images in pictures and on websites, and we’ve lived days inside those images. I saw one of … Read more

Value, like beauty, is many times in the eye of the beholder. The eye of the beholder. We only employ that phrase when we don’t agree with the beholder. Like … Read more

I suppose it’s about time I let you in on my little construction project. That project is, after all, taking me away from this desk more than I’d like it … Read more

I remember the first time I smelled an ocean. It was the Atlantic, off of Daytona Beach, and my family had just driven from Disney World in a rented, white … Read more

I was never much for riding bikes. I bought a Nishiki mountain bike sometime around 1991, and anyone who was sort of into entry level mountain bikes in 1991 probably … Read more

Last Friday I decided to keep my sales activity confined to a specific corner of the lake, in an even tighter corner of Cedar Point Park. I did this not … Read more

When I listed and then sold the house at 1621 East Lakeside Lane last spring, I didn’t do so because of some remarkable, inspired sales job. It wasn’t that I … Read more

I drove West from the South Shore Club yesterday. I drove up and down and around the curves of South Lakeshore Drive, and when I had the chance I turned … Read more

How many sales would you say, at least on average, it takes to create a trend? Certainly it can’t be one sale, and rarely would it ever be two. It … Read more

I mentioned it on Wednesday, and I think it deserves another mention today. That’s not really true. If it were just a mention then I wouldn’t have made the mention … Read more

The Lake Geneva vacation home market consists primarily of five key components. Those are, by measure of importance, Abbey Springs, Geneva National, lakefront condominiums, lake access homes, and finally, most … Read more

Friday gets all the attention, all the time. Thank God it’s Friday. That’s what they say. TGIF, that’s what they say when they want to shorten things up. I have … Read more

I have never been one to celebrate winter. Not here, not in private, not really ever. Sure there were cold days in my youth where I enjoyed skating over frozen … Read more

This platform hardly seems large enough to deliver to you the news of the day. However, since most of the nails and lumber in Walworth County have been swallowed up … Read more

Nothing feels better, after a long days work, than some quality rest. There’s a big difference between sleep and rest, perhaps not for the body but certainly for the soul. … Read more

There are lots of things you can do on a Saturday in Lincoln Park that you can’t do on a Saturday in Lake Geneva. For instance, you can wait in … Read more

I’ve never been the subject of a quarantine. I never had lice, or whopping cough, and I have so far narrowly avoided tuberculosis, SARS, and both the bird and swine … Read more

I suppose it would be like asking the attendees of a rummage sale for their opinion on just how the sale went, or how they liked your used wares, or … Read more

When it comes to gauging a foreclosure scene in any particular market, I suppose the best we can hope for is to ascertain at the very least if those foreclosures … Read more

One of the unfortunate things about a real estate recovery is the emergence of the strike-it-rich-real-estate-people. The breathless group was gone for a while, back when real estate was harder … Read more

Why check a seven day forecast when it offers no hope? I mean, it can offer hope, at certain times and on certain seven day screens, but today it doesn’t … Read more

I have a cold today. It’s been working through to the surface since Monday, maybe Tuesday, but today it’s mostly a real life cold. You can’t really blame me for … Read more

Dear Friends, Customers and Future Clients, Lake Geneva Lovers, and Honored Guests who have arrived solely by the benevolent wishes of the Google Algorithms, which we’ll assume you used because … Read more

When we were children, we liked houses. We didn’t like them all that much, and we didn’t write web pages about them, but like them we did. We held certain … Read more

I’ve never been lost in a forest, or a jungle. Because I’ve never been lost for a long time in one of those places I’ve never had a chance to … Read more

In the pursuit of perfection, it’s only natural to fall short of that most lofty goal no matter how energized the effort. This is true in our lives and in … Read more

The castle was built using 6000 yards of concrete, give or take. It’s one of only a very small handful of true castles that exist in the entire state of … Read more

I take it all back. Last week, I asked for ice. For cold. For a delay in the spring that I know I won’t be ready for. This morning, at … Read more

Lake Geneva’s Winterfest. Half the fun is guessing whether or not it’ll be winter! That’s not the official tag line of our Winterfest, but it probably should be. And that’s … Read more

Tomorrow, this Saturday, I’ll be holding open my fabulous lakefront condo at Fontana Shores for your viewing pleasure. It’s not just a regular old condo, it’s a special lakefront condo … Read more

I noticed the stream yesterday. I notice it most days, the little stretch of stream that twists under a culvert and joins another culvert flow just to the East of … Read more

I think it’s a shame that foreclosures are viewed so negatively. They are negative for those directly involved, and the impact on a housing market over mostly the short term … Read more

Some day, I plan to wake up in the morning and spend many moments, perhaps hours even, not thinking about anything. I want to stir in my bed for some … Read more

Most arguments have two sides. This is what makes them arguments and not agreements. Many obvious things can become arguments between sane and insane people, but mostly we argue about … Read more

On some day in December of 2011, a month that sounds like it’s a month from a long time ago but is, in fact, just a month from 13 ago, … Read more

There is a great debate in my house, and it’s a debate based on an even greater falsehood. After a visit to an ice rink last week, I have convinced … Read more

If you were to force me to pick my favorite lake access association, I would have to accept the punishment that my indecision would warrant. To pick a favorite association … Read more

Geneva National looked so primed a year ago today. Prices looked cheap, interest rates looked low, inventory looked plentiful, and for what felt like the first time in a long … Read more

I remember well the first time I ever walked through the Harbor Watch condominiums in Lake Geneva. It was a summer day, and I had just recently hurt my back … Read more

When we say, Happy New Year, capitalization required or at least inferred, we’re not so much wishing as we are demanding. Better make it a Happy New Year, or else! … Read more

In Holiday news, someone bought a house on some lake in East Troy this week for $1.25MM. If I can figure out why someone would do such a thing, I’ll … Read more

That’s really all there is for today. I’m off this afternoon to pull some wires in my shell of a house, which isn’t very festive but it is sort of … Read more

It wasn’t long ago that I would have looked at modern architecture and sneered. It didn’t make sense to me, this modern architecture. I didn’t care for the angles, the … Read more

I have a horrible rule when it comes to Christmas presents. Let’s say you’re my wife, collectively. And you want all sorts of things for Christmas, none of which come … Read more

As we wait for the closings to occur before we talk about the rush of late year sales around the lake, we should probably talk about loans. And lenders. And … Read more

It’s a lonely feeling here this morning. The office is always lonely, just me sitting here and talking or typing. People come and people go, but most of the time … Read more

Old campy cottages are the most famously loved sorts of vacation homes. Nearly everyone can relate to some sort of northwoods cabin made of wood and decorated with various spare … Read more

I think it would be fun to write about sports. If I were a beat writer for a baseball team, there would be at least 162 games to write about. … Read more

Sometimes, houses just don’t want to sell. If I list a house, it’s only natural that I then go about trying to sell it. Agents are wonderful at writing bullet … Read more

Between the true lakefront homes and the regular old association homes there exists another breed of real estate. The lakefront seeker is one who usually must have at least $1.2MM … Read more

The nature of commentary is such that it’s delivered with a general understanding of the facts combined with a heavy dose of opinion, and that opinion is subjective. That’s the … Read more

They say that some people wear their heart on their sleeve. Those same people would never say that some other people wear their soul on their sleeve. They couldn’t. Souls … Read more

Things could be worse. Instead of 2012 it could be 2006. The benefits of 2006 are obvious. We’d all be younger, which isn’t to be ageist but it is to … Read more

It should be obvious to all of us that we’re blessed. If we wake up and go to work, or we wake up and clean the dishes that litter the … Read more

Very few things in life are irreversible. Very few. Some things, maybe most things, seem as though they are. They seem that once they’re completed or secured or cut, that’s … Read more

I suppose if real estate was easy those two guys wouldn’t be in Ghana right now dodging bullets and digging in a swamp. Real estate, like math and diamonds and … Read more

We all engage in it. A very common mistake. It’s not a mistake like it would be to sear ones hand on a very hot pan, but it’s a mistake … Read more

You’ll notice that here, on this Lake Geneva real estate blog (I worded that especially for Google), I rarely factor annual price gains or losses. I contrast volume all the … Read more

There aren’t a whole lot of leaves in a city. There are some, brown ones and red ones and yellow ones that fall from planted trees and onto stained sidewalks. … Read more

There’s a little real estate secret that you should be aware of. Most in real estate will tell you that once a property is closed they will breathe a deep … Read more

In February of 2011 a sturdy brick ranch on quiet street near the lake hit the market. There was very little fanfare. I noticed, because I notice everything, and I’d … Read more

If you spend most of your time watching a boat at sea it is remarkably easy to forget what it’s like to actually be on that boat on that sea. … Read more

There was a lakefront closing last week. A pretty house on 103′ of North Shore frontage closed for $2,725,000. If that were the end of the story, the story would … Read more

I think I’m too young now to know what I’ll remember when I’m old. It would be foolish to suggest that at 34 I somehow know what memories I’ll cherish … Read more

If my memory serves, and it usually does, I have never been in cahoots. Ever. Not in cahoots when I was young and not in cahoots now that I’m older-ish. … Read more

If we remove the lakefront homes that look like lakefront homes but are not really lakefront homes, like those in the South Shore Club, and then we remove those lakefront … Read more

In Miami, or somewhere like Miami, some guy decided to list his house. I think he listed it for $24MM. Then, after some time of not selling, he decided to … Read more

I don’t think I’d like living next to train tracks. I know in the suburbs that’s a big thing- easy access to trains. And if we’re fly fishing somewhere in … Read more

It’s cold this morning. I had forgotten how it felt to pull up my cold office chair and type on this cold keyboard with my cold fingers. I’m not a … Read more

I am mostly German, some Norwegian, and some more Irish. Lake Geneva doesn’t care that I’m Norwegian, as they have no Norwegian Fest. They might have some sort of Irish … Read more

To speak about death all the time is to be morbid more than necessary. If you go through life saying “death this” and “death that”, this isn’t good. But if … Read more

When you park your car in Fontana to the north of the beach but not as far north as Gordy’s or Chuck’s, you can walk to the shore path but … Read more

Ah, October. I’m not intentionally ignoring the last few days of September, but I am looking forward to October. There’s a peace that comes with realizing I’ve officially and completely … Read more

Pop Quiz: If Jim has three slips on his pier, and one slip has a big fiberglass boat, and another slip has a smaller fiberglass boat, what does Jim need … Read more

Riding a bike is not difficult. It’s easy, really. You sit on the seat, you pedal, it’s really not a big deal. I’m not so sure what every 5 year … Read more

It should be noted, if unnecessarily, that No Country For Old Men is not the best movie to watch when you’re with your wife on a midweek getaway to a … Read more

I have a nasty tendency to hate volume that isn’t created in some part by me. It’s only natural, really. So when I scan the market on a week like … Read more

Year To Date figures are sort of fun, particularly in March. Or April. In those early months, the figures can either bring a huge dose of excitement for what might … Read more

When the air gets cold it’s only natural to assume that the water has gotten cold right along with it. The mornings are chilled, the evenings too, and when the … Read more

It shouldn’t surprise us when a lakefront home on Geneva is foreclosed on. It shouldn’t be a surprise when that home cycles through the bank and then returns to the … Read more

Sellers, like job seekers, can become so listless that they drop out of the market all together. If a person is unemployed and they decide, after a lengthy and tiresome … Read more

When you buy a sailboat, it’s only natural that the wind refuses to blow. There isn’t really any reason for it to. You have your sail, you have your boat, … Read more

In the world of lakes, there are large ones and there are small ones. Some are so large they are considered great, others ponds so small they don’t ever achieve … Read more

There isn’t any one secret formula that will produce a product on Geneva Lake that buyers will gravitate towards. I mean, there is, but the base formula for high end … Read more

I don’t like people who work too much. It’s not that they’re necessarily doing it on purpose, but some do not need to be urged to work harder. Some do … Read more

Matt Damon thinks that somehow he’s some sort of big deal because he bought a zoo. You don’t see me spouting off and making movies about how I bought a … Read more

I imagine it to be difficult to be an artist. Or at least to be a fledgling artist. To be one is to draw beautifully, to be convinced of your … Read more

I have no knowledge of horse racing. Or of horses in general. I know they are pleasing to look at from a distance. When they are inside white fences on … Read more

No seller in the history of the world has ever given anything away. The act of giving something away defines the person who gave the gift as the giver, and … Read more

I don’t remember what day my summer started, but I’m pretty sure that it started before yours did. I can’t say what day that was this year, but it was … Read more

When real estate is bad and sales are few, comparing real estate activity to a prior quarter, or a prior year is fun. Case Schiller loves doing this. When sales … Read more